Other Alive to Live in Righteousness (2)

Introduction

Bible

As we move into Romans 6 today, it will help to quickly summarize what we have learned about the Law so far.

We saw in chapter one that Creation itself holds us responsible.

Even without the Law, we violate our own conscience and are therefore held accountable and condemned to His righteous and Just Wrath.

God has also given His Law,

which makes our rebellious and evil hearts even clearer. As Pastor Rick taught us, the Israelites violated all ten commandments as a lifestyle.

Romans 5:13 showed us last week that the Law condemns because nobody can perfectly keep it.

But as we have seen in Chapters 3–5,

by faith through grace,

we are saved from our sins.

For those who have repented and believed,

we are no longer condemned,

we are not in sin but now in Christ.

And for those of us who are in Christ,

we are no longer under the Law.

Christ fulfilled the whole Law, and His righteousness has been credited to us.

So now, in chapter 6, we see the wisdom of God who knows the weakness of humanity.

He knows how our minds think,

and He knows that true grace is something far beyond what we can fully comprehend.

Therefore, Paul takes time to explain the results of this grace in our lives.

He anticipates confusion and objections and addresses them directly so that we can understand what it truly means to live in grace.

Today we will look at the chapter through the lens of two questions that Paul asks,

They are:

I. Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound? Romans 6:1-14

II. Shall we sin since we are not under the Law, but under grace? Romans 6:15-23

We will start with the first question he asks in verse one, which is

I. Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound? Romans 6:1-14

This is an important question, yea?

It would be easy for us to reason,

“If God’s grace covers all,

then surely sinning more will have God give His Grace more.

And if God gives His Grace more, God’s Glory will shine more.

“So why not just keep sinning?”

Paul saw this faulty view of grace and how did he shut it down?

Did he say…

“By no means, God gave moral laws and we must keep them.”

no!

Or did he say…

“No, the Ten Commandments are still to be kept.”

Both answers would be true, but they would not get to the heart of the issue.

Paul goes deeper.

He shows what grace has actually done in us.

The foundation of Paul’s argument is our union with Christ.

His argument is that Grace leads us to obedience because we are

A) united in His Death.

B)united in His burial and resurrection.

C) Consider it true and live accordingly

A) United in His Death

Romans 6:2 ESV

2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

When we were joined to Christ, we were joined to His death.

But what does this mean?

Before we answer that,

I want to quickly give some things it does NOT mean,

because I want to make sure there is no confusion here.

It does not mean we no longer want to sin.

If that is what he meant, there would be no reason to write verses 12-14

And I think we see in our own lives that this isn’t true

It does not simply mean we no longer should sin, or that it is simply inappropriate to sin.

This is true, but entirely too simplistic and does not show the power and beauty of Grace.

It does not mean that sin is simply weakened and we move slowly away from it.

This would be a tempting view because it does sound similar to how we often discuss our sanctification, but it is still a weak view of Grace’s power.

It does not mean we have simply renounced sin and declared that we will not have anything to do with sin any more.

Again, tempting, because it is something we must do, but this puts the killing of sin upon our own declaration and not the work of Christ.

It does not simply mean that we are no longer guilty of sin.

Again, this one is tempting because it is absolutely true that we are no longer guilty of sin, but that speaks to just one aspect of the attonment, or what Christ did on the cross. But death to sin speaks not only to our justification before God, but to the power he has given us over sin itself.

So what does it mean?

To put it as short as possible,

To die to sin means the moment you become a Christian, you are no longer under the “reign”, or the ruling power, of sin.

It’s power over you has been defeated.

Where you were once by your very nature enslaved to sin, you now have the power to say no to sin.

But that isn’t to say there will not be temptation. the enemy was defeated but he has not given up.

to help understand what we mean by this…

Think about a city that had been ruled for years by a cruel enemy.

Then one day,

the true king comes,

defeats that enemy,

and takes back the throne. Now, that does not mean every enemy soldier instantly disappears from the land.

There may still be rebels hiding in the hills.

They may still attack.

They may still cause damage. But they no longer sit on the throne.

They no longer rule the kingdom.

That is what Paul is saying about sin.

Sin will still tempt you. Sin will still attack you.

Sin will still feel strong at times. But if you are in Christ, sin is no longer king.

It no longer has dominion over you.

What I want you to see this morning is if we only see God’s blood shed on the cross as forgiving our sins and not also giving us the power over sin, we are not seeing the fullness of the cross!

But how is it that we have died to sin and obtained this power?

That leads us to verse 3, as well as to our second subpoint.

B) united in His burial and resurrection.

Romans 6:3 ESV

3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

We died to sin because we have been united to Christ by being baptized into Christ, and therefore baptized into His death.

Now, Paul is not saying that the water saved us.

He is pointing to the spiritual reality that baptism pictures.

Baptism shows that the believer has been joined to Christ.

And what does that union mean?

well, let’s look at verses 3 and 4, specifically the order that he gives each part in.

First, we are united to His death.

Then, we are buried with Him.

Then, because Christ was raised from the dead, we also walk in newness of life.

So if you are in Christ, His death counts as your death.

His burial counts as your burial.

His resurrection life becomes your new life.

And if we are united to Him in His death, then we will certainly be united to Him in His resurrection.

If that is still a bit confusing, look at it this way…

Imagine you are on an airplane. Once you are on that plane, where the plane goes, you go.

If the plane takes off, you take off.

If the plane lands, you land. Your experience is now united to that plane.

Now of course, every illustration falls short.

But this helps us understand what Paul is saying. If we are in Christ, then what happened to Christ is now counted as true of us.

Christ died, and we died with Him.

Christ was buried, and we were buried with Him. Christ rose, and we were raised to walk in newness of life.

But what do we do with this information?

C) Consider it true and live accordingly

look with me at verse 11.

If you have a different version than ESV, you may see words like

consider,

reckon,

regard,

think,

or count.

all of these are valid translations of the same greek word used.

The idea is not pretending something is true.

It is recognizing what God says is already true and then living from that reality.

This is important because although I do not believe one can be saved and their life not change, I do believe one can be saved and not have the fullness of that salvation play out in their lives.

If someone had a great inheritance placed in their name,

but they never knew it,

never believed it,

and never drew from it,

then that inheritance would not shape their daily life. It would be real, but they would not be living in the good of it.

That is what Paul is saying here.

If you are in Christ, you are dead to sin and alive unto God.

That is the truth.

That is reality.

But now you must now consider it true.

You must think according to what Christ has done.

You must hold this truth close and live in light of it.

This is why Christian obedience is not mere willpower.

You will never defeat sin simply by saying,

“I will try harder this time.”

I have tried that, and I have failed.

You have likely tried that, and I don’t think I am overstepping by saying you have failed.

The power to obey comes from understanding what grace has already done.

So if verse 11 tells us to know the truth of our new identity.

Then verses 12-14 tell us what this truth now empowers us to do.

Do not let sin reign.

Do not hand your body over to sin like it still owns you.

Yield yourself to God because you are alive from the dead.

The enemy is ruthless.

Sin will still tempt you.

Sin will still call your name.

Sin will still try to make you doubt the reality of Christ’s death and resurrection in your life.

But verse 14 tells us why we can say no:

Sin shall not have dominion over you.

So when you are tempted to stretch the truth on a work document, consider your identity in Christ.

When you are tempted to go to that website while alone in your room, remember that sin is no longer your master.

When you are tempted to let anxious thoughts rule your mind, think through verse 14.

Verse 14 tells us Romans 6 14

Romans 6:14 ESV

14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

But Paul knows how our hearts work.

He knows the next objection we may raise.

We might say

, “But if I am no longer under the Law, if the Law is not what saves me, if Christ has fulfilled the Law for me, then does obedience still matter?”

That is the second question Paul answers in this chapter, and we see it in verse 15.

II. Shall we sin since we are not under the Law, but under grace? Romans 6:15-23

Romans 6:15 ESV

15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

Again, Paul says an astounding no.

But again, Paul does not simply give us a “shut up and go do what is right” answer.

He shows us the depth of God’s grace given on the cross.

Being under grace does not mean we have no obligation.

It means we have a new master,

a new heart,

To help us think through Paul’s argument, I want to divide it into three parts.

A) Grace Does Not Make You Masterless, Romans 6:15-16 B) Grace Changes Your Master from the Heart, Romans 6:17-18 C) Grace Produces Fruit unto Holiness and Life, Romans 6:19-23

A) Grace Does Not Make You Masterless, Romans 6:15-16

Paul’s point in verse 16 is simple.

We are always serving someone.

None of us are as free as we like to think we are.

We will either yield ourselves to sin, or we will yield ourselves to obedience.

Those are the only two options.

This is where we often misunderstand freedom.

We think freedom means,

“Nobody tells me what to do.”

“I can do what I want”

But Paul says that is not reality.

If sin rules you, you are not free. it means you are a slave to your desires,

a slave to your sin.

But in salvation, God does something even greater.

He transfers our allegiance.

We are no longer servants of sin.

We belong to God.

We serve a new Master.

B) Grace Changes Your Master from the Heart, Romans 6:17-18

But lest we think this change is something we grab hold of by our own power, verses 17-18 remind us otherwise.

Notice where Paul begins:

“But Thanks be to God.”

He does not thank them for being strong enough to escape sin.

He does not thank them for finally becoming disciplined enough to change themselves.

He thanks God, because this change is the work of God’s grace.

Paul says,

“You were once slaves to sin.”

That is past tense.

That was who you were.

But now you have

“become obedient from the heart…”

This obedience is not merely outward.

Grace changes us from the heart. It changes who we love, not just what we do.

But that is not always easy is it?

How often do we continue to live as if our master never changed.

It is like a man who had spent his whole life as a slave.

One day, he is truly and legally set free.

The papers are signed. The old master has no claim over him anymore.

But then the old master walks by and calls his name, and the man still feels afraid.

He still feels the old pull. He still remembers the old life.

What does he need in that moment? He does not need to become free.

He already is free.

He needs to remember what is true. He needs to think and consider himself free and live according to that reality.

So grace on the Cross did not make you masterless, free to follow whatever or whoever you feel like.

Grace changed your master.

You have been made free from sin, and you have become servants of righteousness.

C) Grace Produces Fruit unto Holiness and Life, Romans 6:19-23

Paul continues this line of thought in verses 19-21.

Just as you once gave yourself to sin, now give yourself to righteousness.

Before, your life produced more and more sin and shame.

But now, because you belong to God, your life should produce holiness.

Then Paul asks us to look honestly at the fruit of our old life.

What did sin give you?

What did you gain from your previous master?

Shame.

Guilt.

Brokenness.

And

Death.

But now everything has changed.

You have been made free from sin.

You have become servants to God.

And now the fruit is holiness, and the end is everlasting life.

So Paul’s answer is clear.

Being under grace does not remove obedience.

It changes the master we give our obedience to.

We do not obey to become saved.

We obey because we have been saved.

Conclusion

So as we close,

I want to take some time to make sure we do not misunderstand what Paul has said. If anyone walks out of here today thinking,

“Okay, I need to work harder so that I can become dead to sin,”

then I have failed in my preaching.

That is not Paul’s point and it is not what I hope you walk out of here thinking.

But I have equally failed in my preaching if you walk out of here without a deeper desire to be obedient to the commands of God, knowing that you have the power and joy to say no to sin.

I hope you see both realities this morning.

If you have repented and believed in Christ Jesus for salvation, then you are, as a matter of fact, dead to sin and alive in Christ.

That is not something you are trying to achieve,

Because Christ has already achieved it for you.

That is not something you are working to make true.

Because That is the reality Christ has already made true once and for all.

So what must we do?

We must see this as the truth.

We must recognize what God has already said about us, and then live lives that are in accordance with that reality.

How can we who are dead to sin continue living in sin?

How can we who are alive in Christ not live in obedience to our new Master?

A proper understanding of Grace in our lives will always lead to sanctification because it is understanding what Christ has already done within us and living according to that truth.

So this week, do not leave trying to earn what Christ has already accomplished.

Leave worshiping Him for what He has already done,

and that means, in part, worshiping in obedience.

Pray that your life would more and more align with this reality. Grace does not give us permission to sin. Grace gives us the power to no longer sin.

And because we belong to Christ, let us now live like those who have been made alive in Him. And that is exactly what I want us to pray for today in our groups.

1.Pray that we would believe what God has said is true of us who have repented and Believed.

that we would not try to earn what Christ has already accomplished, but would truly reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

2. Pray that we would not let sin reign in us.

that God would expose the sins we are still yielding ourselves to, and that we would no longer live as if sin is our master.

3. Pray that our lives would align more and more with our new identity in Christ.

that grace would lead us to worship, obedience, holiness, and joyful service to our new Master.